House of Straw and Sticks
by Sara1893
Summary: Epilogue to Three Little Pigs & A Big Bad Wolf. Alyss's daddy, Alice's mummy.
1. Alyss's Daddy

House of Straw and Sticks

Alyss

_Daddy_

* * *

Alyss never be the close one to her daddy. It's always her mummy with her. Every time she had nightmare, the first person who she will sought for was her mummy. Always mummy, rarely daddy. Alice however, is the perfect example of daddy little girl. And she is no fool not to realize that daddy always favor Alice more than her. It's not jealousy that came from her part, just a small wonder. Perhaps it's because of Alice's strong resemblance to mummy?

Mummy always told her that she love Alice's eyes that remind her of Uncle Oswald's and how she love her eyes too since it's remind her of daddy. She remembered how mummy always said that the eyes of her two beloved men are in her own daughters eyes.

The only fond recollection of daddy that she secretly cherishes was when daddy taught them how to dance. She will step on daddy's feet and then daddy will lead the dance. She loves how daddy will laughed as he tripped down when his foot tangled with the other. Of course after that daddy tried to cover his mistake by saying that the floor was slippery as he was dancing barefoot. She knows how skillful daddy can dance. She saw how daddy dance with mummy and she always wonder if she can dance that well.

Before she realized it, she made it a habit to practice dancing before she went to bed. So, she will always remember the steps and in turn remember her daddy. Once, Uncle Oswald caught her dancing till late at night. Instead of leading her back to her bed, he smiled, stating that she dance just like how Lacie used to.

Uncle Oswald has the air of a father around him but somehow, she yearned for her daddy. Perhaps her daddy's smiling face is what she sought. Her steps faltered, her thought wondered towards her daddy. She really wants to see mummy and daddy again. It had been a year, but she still misses them. A sob escaped from her tightly closed lips. Before she knows it, she fell to the ground sobbing. The empty study filled with the sound of her crying.

That's how that man with hair like daddy and eyes like mummy found her. That man didn't say a word. He just stayed there beside her, munching on a sweet smelling candy. When she finally stopped crying, he hand her his handkerchief. She wiped her tears and snot away, blowing her nose on the hankie, smiling lightly when she saw him grimace.

"Who are you?" she asked the man with eyes like mummy.

That man smiled, "I'm your uncle's friend. Do you know where he is?"

Alyss shook her head, her eyes fixed on that man's eyes.

"Daddy?" Come Alice's voice from behind them.

Alyss turned around and see her sister already crying as she walked towards the white haired man. Alyss stood up from the ground, dusting her skirt before she approached her sister, grabbing her by her hand to stop her.

Alice stared, eyes wide when that man turned around, his face breaking all the hope in her heart. "You are not daddy" was all she said before her crying that stopped earlier started up again, this time louder.

Alyss pulled her sister away, towards their room.

Of course that man is not daddy. Daddy and mummy are no longer here. How many times must Uncle Oswald tell Alice that they are not coming back anymore?

Alice is so stubborn.

She pushed Alice down on the bed before she grabbed the chocolate that she kept on the drawer beside her bed. She broke the chocolate into two, handing one to Alice. They both munched the chocolate in silent, just like how they used to after they fought. Just like how daddy always made them do after they fought, cried and said their apologies.

"Daddy is not coming back Alice. So is mummy."

Alice chocked on her tears before she nodded her head. "I miss him Alyss. I miss mummy too."

Just like how mummy would do when they cry, she hugged her sister. "Me too."

"They really are not coming back anymore Alyss?"

Alyss nodded, continued eating her chocolate. Her own tears fell down silently, mixed with the chocolate making the chocolate tasted slightly salty nevertheless, she continued eating it. If not, she's afraid that she will cry even louder than Alice.

She wiped her tears away when she finished her share of chocolate, the remaining chocolate on her fingers smeared on her wet face. "Uncle Oswald told me that they are still here with us. It just that we can no longer see them with our bare eyes." She continue to reassure her sister when she saw her look as if she's ready to go for another round of bawling her eyes out.

Alice's scrunched out face changed, her violet eyes widen. "Really?" she asked almost excitedly, her last piece of chocolate vanished with a bite. She licked her fingers clean, her face still stained with tears.

"Yeah. Uncle Oswald said in our body, there's this thing called DNA. Half of mummy's and daddy's DNA is in us. Uncle Oswald said that's why we have mummy's face, I have daddy' hair and eyes and you has mummy's hair."

At that Alice smiled. "Uncle Oswald sure knows a lot."

Alyss smiled back at her sister. "Yeah"

She knows if her daddy could see them right now, he would probably laugh at them. Daddy always liked to laugh at their misery.

_"My cry babies daughters"_

A soft knocked on the door startled both of the twins. "Alyss? Alice? May I come in?" called Oswald from the other side of the door.

Alice quickly shambled towards the door, greeting her uncle with a smile.

Oswald stepped in the room, grimacing when he took in the condition of the room. The twin's room was a mass. His violet eyes swept towards the obviously just cried Alice and Alyss. He gave a slight smile when he saw Alyss's face that smeared with chocolate.

He then placed the bucket of water with ice on the dressing table before he dipped in a towel that he brought with him. Squeezing the towel dry, he hand the towel to Alice. "Dabbed your eyes with it. It will reduce the swelling" He did the same with the other towel before he handed it to Alyss. "Now you do the same too."

Alyss took the towel, dabbed it over her eyes. "Uncle Oswald, who was that man at the study just now? He must be the one who told you that we were crying just now." She asked him curios.

"He's a friend of mine Alyss. Why did you ask?"

She then blushed under her uncle heavy gaze. "It just that he have eyes like mummy and hair like daddy"

That night as she was getting ready to bed, the only thing that kept on replying on her mind was how that man reminds her of both daddy and mummy.

Just before she fell to sleep, a small thought cross her mind.

_"He smile just like daddy"_

* * *

A/N: For my friend that lost her father. Be strong.


	2. Alice's Mummy

House of Straw and Sticks

Alice

_Mummy_

* * *

She knows that mummy and daddy are not coming back anymore. Uncle Oswald told her that many times. It just that the concept of death that she couldn't comprehend. Sometimes she wondered if the reason why she can't see her daddy and mummy anymore were because they were buried under the ground. She put up a fussed when she saw they lowered down the two boxes that contain mummy and daddy. Uncle Oswald said that the boxes are where mummy and daddy going to sleep in but why they put mummy and daddy in a different box?

Mummy always sleeps with daddy.

She miss mummy so much and she knows Alyss will miss mummy much worst. Mummy always be Alyss's favorite person as daddy to hers. Even so, she really wants to hug mummy again. She tried to hug Uncle Oswald to replace mummy but she can't. Uncle Oswald is not mummy and he smells different than mummy.

So, sometimes when she miss mummy so bad, she will play the piano as she sing the song that mummy used to sing. Daddy taught them how to play the piano. She can't read the notes, she never tried to but she always remembered the placing of each fingers. Her tempo always slower than when daddy played it but mummy said she loved it.

Alyss sometimes try to show her mummy's and daddy's photo that she found from the photo albums but she refused to even spare it a glance. Seeing mummy's and daddy's smiling faces made her mad. Mummy and daddy lied! They said they were coming back, but when they did, they won't even answer her when she called for them. They just lay in that boxes looking pretty as they sleep and they felt so cold when she touched them.

She knows she's not the only one who miss mummy, so she always tried her best not to cry. The face that Uncle Oswald shows her when she cried for mummy and daddy always a sad one. Few days after mummy's and daddy's _funeral_ as Uncle Oswald told her, she found Uncle Oswald looking at Mummy's picture. The stillness that Uncle Oswald portrayed as he stared at mummy's picture scared her. So, she rushed to his side quickly enveloping him with a hug. As she pressed her face at the base of Uncle Oswald's face, she felt the dampness there. Of course Uncle Oswald will cry too. Mummy is his little sister.

She knows she will cry too if Alyss is not coming back.

She tried her best to preoccupy herself with their tutor that Uncle Oswald hired for them. She study, practice her piano and play with Alyss every day. Alyss is struggling too after mummy's and daddy's death but Alyss always say that she's alright. Alyss always like to put up a strong face since she's the older one but she knows that Alyss miss mummy too.

They took up a ballet class when they were six after learning from Uncle Oswald that mummy always wanted to learn ballet but she never had the chance to. Perhaps they can learn ballet in mummy place. After all mummy still live in her and Alyss.

Jumping up and down in her ballet attire that Uncle Oswald bought for her not long ago, she took a peak from behind the curtain of the stage trying to ease the anxiety from performing for the first time in ballet. Alyss was getting ready doing a simple warming up. Sighing, she laced up her shoes all the while singing the mummy's song. Mummy's song never failed to ease her.

She put up a smiling face as the curtains were raised. She did her best, she dance just as she practiced in fact she think that she did even better than the usual. As the final was coming nearer, she saw a woman stood from her seat. A woman with long black hair wearing a red dress. She can't see the face but somehow, she could hear the words that woman said to her loud and clear.

_'I'm so proud of you Alice. Please be a good girl to your uncle for me and daddy ok?'_

Her steps flattered.

Mummy?

A lone tear dripped from her eye as she bowed to the audience as the staging reached it end. She tried to find the woman after that but from what her ballet teacher told her, there was no woman with long black haired wearing a red dress that came to see the performance.

When Uncle Oswald came to see them at the back stage, she hugged him, crying.

"Mummy is really not coming back huh?" she asked, sobbing.

Uncle Oswald patted her back as he nodded his head, conforming her fear.

So that's the meaning of death.

To not being able to see someone that you miss so badly no matter how hard you wished for it.

And she really miss her mummy too.


End file.
